Job Discussion Forums

[steve schertzer]

There are two sides to every story. Sometimes three or four. This is my side. I came to San Juan del Rio two weeks ago with the best of intentions. After seven plus years teaching in Asia, I wanted to come to Mexico to make a positive difference in the lives of my students. I still do.
I applied for a teaching job with Global International Institute. After four days of observing classes and teaching two others--- for no money---
I was not offered a position. Fair enough. No problem. That's part of the business. I accept that.
Then something terrible happened. On Monday, February 19th, I went to the internet to check my email. I received a letter from both my sisters and my father informing me that my stepmother had passed away.
She had been suffering from lung cancer. My first thought was to go home, even though I was just home last month. After speaking with my father and sisters, I was assured that things were fine and to stay in Mexico. They insisted that I continue looking for work and that things would be okay. I took that to heart and I'm still here.
The teachers in this beautiful colonial town have been very supportive. I'm proud to call them friends. They have been king and gracious enough to let me use their computer and call messenger service to keep in touch with my family during this difficult time. In fact, I was suppose to move into Peter and Ann's house to continue to be in contact with my family. They have two extra rooms.
Now here's the problem: I was supposed to move in on Tuesday, February 20th. Laurie Roberts, who runs the school with her Mexican husband Mario, confronted Peter to let him know that, since I was not working for her, I was not to live there. I then confronted Ms. Roberts to let her know that this was an agreement between myself, Peter and Ann.
Then I was told that this house was reserved for, in the words of Ms. Roberts, "our teachers." Peter and Ann signed the lease while Ms. Roberts and Mario are the co-signers. Again, fair enough. Or is it?
A day after my father buried his second wife, a day after my sisters buried our stepmother, Laurie Roberts and her husband Mario, the owners of the school, would not let me move into a place where I could be in constant contact with my grieving family! Not once did Ms. Robers call me to offer her condolences about my stepmother. (She did, however, only after I called her. Then she said that she wanted to speak to me about the "living arrangements.")
To say this is insensitive is a huge understatement. Withing this horrible tragedy, there was a wonderful opportunity for Ms. Roberts to say,

"I'm sorry about your stepmother, Steve. Even though we decided not to work together, I will put you in the teacher's residence so that you can call your family whenever you like. I realize you're going through a hard time right now, so let's put any differences aside. Take a week or two and make sure everything's all right. After all, we are all teachers."

But did Ms. Roberts say that? No! Instead, I was treated to,

"You cannot live in the teacher's residence. You do not understand. You are not one of our teachers. We tried to help you." (Granted, Ms. Roberts and Mario did find me a cheap place to stay in town for a month.)

This insensitive, inhumane and shocking response came three days after my stepmother's death from lung cancer. Is it too much to ask these people to treat teachers with more compassion? This is not about teaching anymore. This is not about managing. This is not even about teacher/management relations--- or whatever is left of it after this experience. This is about common human decency. It's about showing compassion towards a teacher--- any teacher, it doesn't have to be your teacher--- who just lost a family member to cancer. Is it possible for Ms. Roberts and Mario to put aside their mistrust of teachers for one second to comfort someone in need?
Yes there are two sides to every story. Sometimes three or four. This is mine with Laurie Roberts and her husband Mario--- owners of Global International Institute in San Juan del Rio, Mexico.
If you have any questions for me, contact me at [email protected]
If you would like Ms Robert's side, contact her at
[email protected]

Sincerely,

Steve Schertzer.

[Not St Louis]

Since you are an Ajarn.com writer, I won't be so hard. Maybe you should go over to the TeflWatch.Org site and put this report there, they have a Mexico room there.

In this time of grieving, you should do this and just this. I remember that when my grandfather died(he was the closest family member to me at the time), I got the news on a visa run in Malaysia and I was so frustrated that I couldn't get anyone there to help me find a phone card and show me how to work the phones there so I could call and get the news at least over the phone. It hurt me a lot, but now, years later, I realize that the loss was a personal one and why should anyone else care about someone they do not know. Many people die every single hour throughout the world. Most all of them are grieved, the grieving you feel for your stepmother is a grief that I can not possibly share. You should be allow to grieve but not force others to grieve with you.

My advice for you is to take a chill pill, pick up a prepaid cellphone in order to be in contact(something a teacher should buy as soon as practical when hitting the ground in a new country) with your family and leaving the San Juan del Rio to find a nice place to relax for a week.

[pattyrose]

My heart goes out to Steve and he does not need to take a chill pill as far as I'm concerned. My experience with Laurie Roberts also indicates that she needs some soft skills training.

Steve, I was offered a position with Laurie Roberts last March and sent her the $300.00 deposit she requires to reserve a room at the house. (I am offered a job and pay for my own transportation there, and still have to send a deposit. Hmmm) Maybe I was gullible because Laurie is extremely enthusiastic and initially charismatic.

Before I was to have arrived, I accepted another position at three times her salary rate, but could not contact Laurie because she was on one of her many flights to Canada, and had no Internet acess. I attempted telephoning her but there was no answer.

One week later, I received an angry email from Laurie, who said that her husband waited for me at the airport for several hours. After several emails, she said she would return a portion of the $300.00 USD deposit I'd sent her, but one year later I have yet to see it.

I don't think Steve or anyone needs to chill; when things don't go as planned, you can always tell the character of an employer by the way he or she treats prospective subordinates.

In these two cases, I would venture to say that Global International does not demonstrate good work ethics. People should avoid sending money to her, and they should demand a sound contract with a work visa well in advance of making the trip.
Patricia

[PlayadelSoul]

While I feel for your loss, I can't help but think that it really has nothing to do with the company. It is a business, and if the housing is truly for employees, then you would not qualify for it. That is the bottom line.

Again, I am sorry for your loss.

[Samantha]

Patty, I am very sorry to hear for Steve's recent loss as well, but I can't wrap my head around why one would think either of these situations warrants attacking these school owners. He doesn't work for them nor did you. It did sound as if Steve received assistance from them with helping him locate an independent apartment (if I read that correctly).

You are obviously ticked at them because you don't have the refund you demanded. BUT it sounds as if YOU let them down by no-showing, especially if someone waited for you for hours. How much did that cost them in time, gas and incidental expenses and where is the nearest airport? What did they do for a replacement for you? Did they have to return tuition fees to students when you didn't show? They may no longer have had the deposit in their possession to give back to you. I don't know the arrangment for housing you had, but landlords require deposits to reserve rentals and hold them off the market.

So you are basically advising others in your post that these people, subject of this thread, should hold jobs AND pay work permits in advance($200.00USD) in the hopes that you will actually show up for your end of the contract... Come on. You didn't. Many schools don't pay working permits period, never mind before they see the whites of your eyes. Schools here operate on a shoe string many times. Frequent posters to this forum recently mentioned what a big problem this is here in Mexico with teachers not showing. Some fail to realize that the school's reputation is on the line when parents have paid tuitions for a foreign teacher and then students are left staring at the blackboard at the start of classes if a last minute substitute cannot be found. Collecting some money in advance to secure an agreement may not be a bad idea.

Sometimes we just have to look outside our "all-about-me" world and see the bigger picture. If you are still in Mexico file a complaint if you think you have been wronged. Let the system decide who is at fault and if money is owing anyone.

P.S. I am adding a note here: I just read another post you wrote saying you have been teaching in Asia and not Mexico. (No doubt the salary was 3 times as much if you accepted a job in Asia instead...apples and oranges)

[steve schertzer]

Thanks a lot for everyone's reply. I'm feeling a bit better now since I'm out of San Juan del Rio. And, by the way, my family is doing better as well. Of course, this will all take time. A week in another city might be just what I need. This is no time to think of teaching or managing, which was exactly my point in my original post. It was all about being human.
I know the TEFL business very well. I've been in it for eight years. While I was writing my original post yesterday I was feeling so many different emotions. The tears filling my eyes were tears of hurt, rage, and disappointment. I just needed a soft place to fall while my family was going through this. I realize business is business. I realize that the house was for the teachers only. But the teachers Ms. Roberts are planning to hire are not expected in San Juan del Rio until April.
All I needed was one of the rooms for a week or two until things got better. But Ms. Roberts couldn't see it in her heart to allow that to happen.
Like I said in my original post, this was not about teaching or managing.
This is just simple human decency to allow a teacher to get over the loss of a loved one.
For eight years managers and language school school directors have been telling their teachers that �we must understand their point of view.��
And I am. I'm really trying to understand. I understand that many of us teachers get ripped off hours and money. I understand that we are lied to, whether over the internet or in person. I understand all that. It's business.
But what I can't understand, what I'm really struggling with right now, is how can a fellow Canadian like Ms. Roberts not allow another Canadian to live in the teacher's residence for one or two weeks so that he can be in constant contact with his family while they are grieving the loss of a loved one? Can anyone understand that? How low can a language school owner sink?
I would gladly take back everything I said if I was just shown some compassion and sympathy. But it just doesn't seem to be a part of what Ms. Robert�s does.
Again, I thank everyone for their understanding and support. It seems that we teachers must stick together.

Steve Schertzer.

[Not St Louis]

TEFL is a business, plain and simple and all owners/managers are out to get as much money as they can and who cares about the little guy.

The $300 deposit is just about ensuring profit BEFORE the teacher arrives. All businesses have risks and if a school is unable to find a teacher locally then they have certain risks in hiring a teacher outside the country. That school attempts to limit the risk.

[flutterbayou]

I sometimes cringe while reading these forums because it seems like some people post a shotgun response without carefully reading the content of the previous message - attack! And it's why I have viewed them for awhile, but haven't posted anything until now.

Can people learn to express opposing views with courtesy?

From what I can gather on this topic, some guy intended to work for a company and things didn't work out. After a death in his family, he needed something a little more than what was "owed" him, and it seems that Patty was just pointing out that this organization didn't act in good faith on her part, either. Perhaps her thoughts are a little idealistic, but to be fair, she has a right to make public her experience.

But I can see her point on the deposit. If she sent money as a good faith deposit but couldn't come and tried to contact the school, then she should get some of her money back. If you make a deposit on a car and don't buy it, you get the deposit back. And if you buy a house and never sign for the mortgage, you get your earnest money back.

A good rule of thumb here is: don't take hits on others in this forum. Instead, take a closer look at the problems that make them. In both of these instances the real problem is that Mexican schools don't secure a contract with new employees because they want to get a good look at them first. It's nothing to do with legalities, because contracts can be exchanged by regular mail - it's all about schools not wanting to make an adhering commitment to the teacher until parties meet face-to-face.

And if a school won't make a commitment until the face-to-face meeting, then a teacher is not completely obligated to uphold his or her end of the bargain.

[pattyrose]

Thanks, Flutter. What you've written supports what I tagged in another discussion.

If contracts were drawn up and specifics laid out, fewer problems would arise for both parties in an employment deal.

I don't care for the occasional bites made here, either, but I suppose it comes part and parcel with putting yourself online. You have to let an occasional insult roll off your back like water. What did Barbara Walters say . . . "Never write a letter; never throw one away."

FYI - The people at GI recently agreed to return the $300, and I appreciate them for promising to make good.

[Cdaniels]

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[pattyrose]

Ben Round, where did you get that nifty flag?